Tag: speaking

This is an updated version of my CAE/C1 ice-breaking activity for the first class of a course. Click this link to the prezi (you’ll only need the first 5 slides).

Obviously it’s tailored to my interests but you’ll get the idea and be able to adapt to your own.

First I flash up the sentences with the adjective/verb + preposition combination (petrified of) etc. and tell them that some are true and some are false. They have to decide which are true and which are false in pairs. Award points to the pairs who guess correctly.

Then test them on the prepositions by flashing up the slide with them omitted. Then they have to write 4 sentences using the same combinations, some true some false and read them to their partner, who has to guess which are T/F.

Then the next bit is 6 sentences with some nice phrases about personal interests etc. “I’m into….” etc. I show them my examples (they’re all true) and let them ask me some questions. Then they have to complete the sentences so they’re true for them.

Then they have to mingle around the class reading their sentences to each other, flash up the expressions for showing interest: Uh-huh, mm-hmmm etc. and encourage them to use them. Tell them that they should try to remember as much information as they can about their classmates. While they do this, monitor and board any emergent language to look at later.

After 10 mins or so have them sit down and split them into two teams. Select one member from the first team, the other team then has to remember as much as they can about that person:

“He’s into football and rugby.”

“He has a burning ambition to meet Messi.” etc.

Award 1 point for each correct bit of info. The idea is that they’re recycling the 6 expressions over and over and getting to know each other at the same time.

This is a vocabulary activity for adults intermediate students. Students will learn some vocabulary related to the world of work and put it to use in a discussion. Download the handout and teacher’s notes below:

Procedure

Give out the handout and have students complete the questions with one word from the box. Check their answers, students then ask and answer the questions in pairs or groups of three. Feed back in open class.

Students then try to name the different tradespeople then ask and answer the discussion questions.

This is a new TED talk lesson plan for C1+ students. You can either set the TED talk with the comprehension questions as homework or watch the talk in class as it’s only 12 minutes long. Download the handout and teacher’s notes below:

Now you might be thinkingI’ve pulled this number out of the air for shock value.

So the idea of the pre-mortem is to think ahead of timeto the questions that you might be able to ask that will push the conversation forward. You don’t want to have to manufacture all of this on the spot.

You might change your mind in the heat of the moment,but at least you’re practiced with this kind of thinking.

So I’m not completely organized,but I see organization as a gradual process, and I’m getting there.

Comprehension Questions

What happens in the anecdote Daniel tells at the start of the talk?

What were the consequences of Daniels clouded thinking?

What is the solution he comes up with?

What are the two practical tips he gives for common problems?

What are the two questions he recommends asking to a doctor before they prescribe you a drug?

What was the historical advantage to the brain releasing cortisol in stressful situations?

Discussion Questions

What did you think of the talk?

Have you ever been in a similar situation to the one Daniel describes in his anecdote? What did you do?

Have you ever forgotten a passport or boarding card when flying somewhere? What did you do?

Are you an absent-minded person? What things do you lose/misplace? Where do you keep your keys/mobile/wallet at home?

In what situations is it good idea to predict the possible problems that could occur?

Are you good at making decisions under pressure?

What do you think of what he says about the medical industry?

Would you trade quality of life for a longer life?

Pre-mortem

What things could possibly go wrong in these situations, and how could you prepare for the problems?

A job interview

Travelling by plane

An important exam

A first date

A wedding

The first day at a new job

A surprise party

Climbing a mountain

Teacher’s notes

Language Focus

In the dead of winter/night = in the middle of

Fumble = to feel/do something clumsily/inefficiently

Clouds your thinking = confuses/affects your thinking in a bad way

Pull a number out of the air = invent a number in the moment of speaking

For shock value = in order to cause shock

On the spot = in the moment of speaking, also “to put someone on the spot” = force someone to answer a difficult question without preparation.

In the heat of the moment = do something while stressed/angry/excited

I’m getting there = I’m making progress

Comprehension questions

He forgets his keys so has to smash the basement window to get into his house.

He forgets his passport the next morning when he goes to the airport.

To perform a “pre-mortem” evaluation of possible problems that could occur.

Designate a place for commonly lost things: keys, wallet etc. Take a photo of things you might lose while travelling: credit card, passport, keys and save it to the cloud to make it easier to get them back.

Put students into groups of 2-3 and show them the powerpoint. Tell them to think of an invention, there are some pictures in the first slide to give them some inspiration. Then give them 10 minutes to write and practice a presentation using the language on slide 2 and any other language they can think of. They must also think of a brand name and slogan.

Students then present their inventions to the rest of the class, who can decide, Dragon’s Den style, if they want to invest or not.

This is a reading and speaking lesson plan based around an article about the WHO’s recent revelation linking consumption of red meat to cancer for B2+. Download the student’s and teacher’s copy of the article below:

Influenced by my wonderful DELTA tutors I’ve split the text up into sections. Before reading each section students make a prediction about what they’re about to read and then read to confirm their predictions. They then read again and complete comprehension questions that go into more detail.

Lesson structure:

Predict/speculate about section 1

Read to confirm

Read section 1 again and answer comprehension questions

Predict/speculate about section 2

Read to confirm

Read again, answer comprehension questions

Repeat

Give students ample time between sections and after finishing the article to respond and interact with the text.

In a report published on Monday, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

But in Argentina, which has one of the highest levels of meat consumption in the world, the study was met with scepticism.

“I’m aware of the health risks, but it’s part of our culture,” said Bacaloni, who estimates that he eats between a kilogram and 1.5kgs of meat each week.

Do you think Jorge will change his ways because of the news?

Most of that is from cattle, putting Bacaloni around the average in Argentina, where consumption per capita was 59.4kg of beef in 2014.

As well as the pure pleasure of home grills and estraña dishes in beef houses, the lawyer said that it was a custom. “This is part of our history. Part of our life,” he says. “And at least cows in Argentina are raised on pastures rather than in sheds. It’s more natural.”

But he was more concerned for his family that the World Health Organisation had classified processed meat in the same cancer-risk category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos.

“I have a three-year-old son. We’ve been giving him sausage, but I’ll stop that,” he said. He too is adjusting his diet, though for different reasons. “I’ll have chicken today, but only because I’m on a diet.”

What changes will he make?

What reasons does he give for his scepticism?

Why does he think Argentine beef is better than in other countries?

Why do you think Argentines eat so much meat?

Fashion designer Marcela Duhalde laughs when she explains how often she eats steak. “l hate cooking so when I have to make food I always choose a T-bone steak and tomatoes because it’s easy and delicious. I have it maybe four or five times a week,” she says. “I ought to be huge.”

Raised on a farm, she says eating meat is a custom. “My family was very carnivorous. If we didn’t have meat, we didn’t consider it a meal.”

This is a common refrain. The first cattle were introduced by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century and they soon became a feature on the pampas – the vast grasslands that stretch across much of the country – while their meat was an integral part of the gaucho “cowboy” culture.

Why does Marcela eat meat so often?

How often does she eat steak?

Is this too often?

Why do some people say that they could never be vegetarian?

What effect do you think the WHO’s decision will have on people’s habits?

Duhalde says she is concerned about the agrochemicals, antibiotics, tainted cattle feed and the generally poor conditions that many cattle are kept in, but vegetarianism is not option. Nor it seems is cutting back.

“Everything I like is unhealthy – steak, alcohol, drugs and other things. I’d rather die than give it all up. I don’t have the energy to be happy without them.”

She didn’t expect the WHO decision to make much of an impact on Argentina’s love of steaks in the short term, but she thought it could make a difference in the distant future if the evidence mounted up and led to the same sort of health campaigns that are now common with tobacco.

“This makes us start thinking about the risks, but there is a big distance between thinking about things and actually changing our habits.”

What things worry Marcela about meat production?

Why could she never be a vegetarian?

What’s her conclusion?

What’s your opinion?

Follow up

Students write an essay examining the importance of meat in their culture and the effect they think the announcement will have.

This is a speaking activity for intermediate and upwards on the subject of persuading and convincing. It can be used as preparation for FCE and CAE due to its similarity to part 3 of the speaking test.

Split the class into groups of 4 or 5. Use this quizlet set to practice language for convincing and persuading. For higher levels get them to brainstorm the language in pairs first and then board it.

Language from the quizlet set:

Don’t you _________ it would be better to go to Ibiza?

__________ it be better to go to Ibiza?

I think we _________ go to Ibiza.

I suggest/recommend ________ to Ibiza.

We o_________ to go to Ibiza.

I i__________ that we go to Ibiza.

By ______ the best idea is to go to Ibiza

What/How _______ going to Ibiza?

Key:

think

Wouldn’t

should

going

ought

insist

far

about

Students discuss the different situations in the powerpoint in their groups of 4-5. Nominate one person from the group to be the person who the others must persuade (parent, headmaster, boss, editor, friend)